Tag Archives: routine

I always seem to start the year with ideals. Ideally, I will finish all the dishes and prep for the morning the night before, wake up at 6:30am, and have between 6:30-8 as my designated “blogging” time. Occasionally this happens. More often than not, here’s how much current mornings go and how I am embracing flexibility:

Wake up at 6:30, go downstairs to start the coffeepot (currently for Peter, will be for me again on Wednesday!). While water is heating up, finish the dishes.

Wash my hair. We purchased a new-to-us brand of shampoo a couple weeks ago and accidentally got the kind with extra moisture, which my hair doesn’t like, so I’m washing my hair more frequently (otherwise it looks greasy and gross).

Pack my snacks. I eat lunch at work, but I snack throughout the day. Currently I bring dried figs, walnuts, carrots and hummus, and a piece of fresh fruit. I also bring a cup of bone broth.

Take my salad bar capsules and make a protein shake. I am loving getting to drink chocolate first thing in the morning! My new favorite way is to use some of the hot water from the coffee pot to make my shake into hot cocoa. Hot cocoa with 13 g of protein and nutrition from 24 plants? Umm….yes please! Occasionally I will also add a scoop full of collagen powder as well for extra protein.

From about 7:30-8:15am is about the time when I get to sit down to blog. I’ve decided to take the self-placed burden of posting every day off of myself. I’m laying out topics to be able to post several times a week still, but also using that time during some days to connect with other bloggers, work on my freelance articles, write my newsletters, and do some general maintenance behind-the-scenes. This has opened up so much space for me to actually take care of this blog and enjoy it, because now I have the time to get it all done.

By 8:15 it’s time to leave for work, and I can feel accomplished already, knowing that my family is taken care of with a clean kitchen, Peter’s coffee waiting for him in the microwave, and we all have good food to nourish us.

This morning routine is not exactly how I pictured it at the beginning of the year. And it likely will not stay this way as I continue to work on my goals for this Year of Discipline. I usually turn on YouTube and listen to MoneySavingMom’s short videos while I do the dishes, so I can continue learning and growing. Today I listened to her walk through how she plans out her weeks. I realized that I have a super cute planner that I am not using properly. I’m barely opening it! Later today I’m going to sit down and plot out my goals for the week. This will become a Sunday night routine, so I can lay out my whole week at a glance. This planner is going to get used well!

On Wednesday I will share with you a recap of our January, how our goals for 2017 are coming, and a few other reflections.

The Director of Nursing position is hard. If someone needs something, I’m it. At any time in the day or night. I love my job and my life, so this is in no way a complaint, it’s just a statement of fact. It’s like my job is an overgrown toddler with a lot of rules that need to be followed just so, and then I come home at night to an actual toddler. Add in all the emotions of the last week (and the fact that after being at meetings super early in the morning on Tuesday I had to cover the overnight shift at the last minute Tuesday night), and I’m just beat.

But my spirit craves routine and self-improvement, so here I am. Refusing to quit (again). Reminding myself of my “why” (which is still on the chalkboard, inspiring me daily). Knowing that working through the challenges in this course will ultimately benefit my family, especially when things get a little crazy at work.

Day 5 is something that is truly saving my sanity, and I’m not being the least bit melodramatic. The habit of a prioritized to-do list for the next day helps me both in my professional life and my home life. I utilize the “notes” app on my phone for reminders about all sorts of things that need to be accomplished at work the next day before I go to sleep (aka, the time to REMEMBER ALL THE THINGS for about 0.5 seconds).

Writing a list is beneficial at home since I can handle issues as they arise. Something as simple as “tomorrow I will pay the phone bill” will help make sure the bill is paid on time. Currently it’s “on Monday I will call the internet company and remind them that they were to take that charge off my bill.”

I hate playing catch-up. Once I intentionally plan for things, I am one step ahead. This brings peace and order to our days, which is a great relief for me.

Crystal uses Google Calendar for her planning, but I do best with a pen and paper. I’ve started keeping a little notebook of my to-do lists for most days in my purse. My work list stays on my phone so I can email it to myself. Find what works the best for you, and train yourself to develop the habit.

The first thing on the list for tomorrow? Makeover Your Evenings: Day 6. The topic is sleep and I’m allllll over that! If you haven’t yet, you can purchase the course here.

Today’s project is to write down all the things that together would create a perfect evening, and then narrow down the list to the top five priorities. In a quick “brain dump” fashion, here is everything I would like to get accomplished between the hours of 5pm (when I return from work) and 10:30pm, when I would ideally go to bed:

Make/eat supper

plan tomorrow’s breakfast and supper

clean kitchen

tidy up the house (I have a tendency to leave little piles wherever I am. This habit will help prevent that)

shower

brain dump list for tomorrow

blog

exercise

read with Tristan

My top 5 priorities for the evening would be as follows:

Supper

clean kitchen

brain dump

shower

read with Tristan

In this season of our lives, I crave routine, peace, and steady progress towards our personal goals. When I let myself focus on anything else, I find myself in a space of chaos and I stress myself out. I’m going to write these priorities on our chalk board under my “why.” This will help me choose my top “yes” activities and know that I am doing what is best for my family.